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Polyvagal Theory



Polyvagal theory is the suggestion that the vagus nerve—a part of the nervous system that connects the heart, lungs, and digestive tract—plays a strong role in emotion regulation, social connection, and anxiety. Proponents of polyvagal theory emphasize the importance of social relationship development in our understanding of the physical response to trauma and stress.

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Vagus Nerve Reset to Release Trauma Stored in the Body

This vagus nerve reset is designed to relieve stress and anxiety by restoring the social engagement state referenced in Polyvagal Theory developed by Stephen Porges. Vagus nerve exercises also turn off fight or flight in the sympathetic nervous system to release trauma stored in the body.

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2020
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The Polyvagal Theory in Therapy: Engaging the Rhythm of Regulation

Adding a polyvagal perspective to clinical practice draws the autonomic nervous system directly into the work of therapy, helping clients re-pattern their nervous systems, build capacities for regulation, and create autonomic pathways of safety and connection.

book
Deb Dana, Stephen W. Porges (foreword)
2018
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If There Was Ever a Time to Activate Your Vagus Nerve, It Is Now

Emerging research on the vagus nerve sheds light on how people can tune in to their nervous systems and find ways back to a “rest and digest” state amidst the chronic stress.

article
Ashley Abramson
2020
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The Heart of Trauma: Healing the Embodied Brain in the Context of Relationships

How each of us can become a therapeutic presence in the world. Images and sounds of war, natural disasters, and human-made devastation explicitly surround us and implicitly leave their imprint in our muscles, our belly and heart, our nervous systems, and the brains in our skulls.

book
Bonnie Badenoch, Stephen W. Porges
2017
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The Pocket Guide to the Polyvagal Theory: The Transformative Power of Feeling Safe

Bridging the gap between research, science, and the therapy room.

book
Stephen W. Porges
2017
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Clinical Applications of the Polyvagal Theory: The Emergence of Polyvagal-Informed Therapies

Clinicians who have dedicated their work to bringing the benefits of the Polyvagal Theory to a range of clients have come together to present Polyvagal Theory in a creative and personal way.

book
Stephen W. Porges, Deb Dana
2018
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Accessing the Healing Power of the Vagus Nerve: Self-Help Exercises for Anxiety, Depression, Trauma, and Autism

This practical guide to understanding the cranial nerves as the key to our psychological and physical well-being builds on Stephen Porges’s Polyvagal Theory—one of the most important recent developments in human neurobiology.

book
Stanley Rosenberg, Benjamin Shield, Stephen W. Porges
2017
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The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological Foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-Regulation

This book compiles, for the first time, Stephen W. Porges’s decades of research.

book
Stephen W. Porges
2011
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08:58

Trauma and the Nervous System: A Polyvagal Perspective

This video was developed to give a basic introduction and overview of how trauma and chronic stress affects our nervous system and how those effects impact our health and well-being.

video
Stephen Porges
2021
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Polyvagal Safety: Attachment, Communication, Self-Regulation

Ever since publication of The Polyvagal Theory in 2011, demand for information about this innovative perspective has been constant. Here Stephen W. Porges brings together his most important writings since the publication of that seminal work. At its heart, polyvagal theory is about safety.

book
Stephen W. Porges
2024
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